The Tech Gap

AICPA TECH2005 Next Week

The 25th Annual Tech-fest officially launches on Sunday, June 26th at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. I'm actually leaving home tomorrow for a rather circuitious string of speaking engagements starting here in Michigan, then on to San Diego, and finally back to Las Vegas.

TECH2005 promises to be a great get-together. I am particularly looking forward to a session I'll moderate entitled "The Suite Approach -- A View from the Top" which will feature the top executives from ATX-Kleinrock, CCH, and Thomson CSI. Each panel member (Ken Crutchfield, Kevin Robert, and Jon Baron, respectively) will have a 20 minute opening statement and then we'll open the session to questions. This should be quite a treat!

I asked each participant to send me a Powerpoint file of their presentation so I could load them all on my laptop for the session. Two weeks ago in Los Angeles Jon Baron proudly handed me a slightly oversized UltraTax CS logo'd pen and grinned as he said "Here's my Las Vegas presentation." After a few seconds of confusion I figured out why the pen was a tad bit oversized --- it hides a USB drive upon which Baron had placed his files.

Nice give-away --- clever. And useful for practitioners, too. I'm impressed with the media. I guess I'll have to wait for TECH to see if his presentation is equally impressive!

gll

Fujitsu's ScanSnap is Still a Hit

I got my ScanSnap last fall --- on a Wednesday, installed it on Thursday, and was in love by the week-end. Actually, I think it was even faster than that. I don't often blog twice about the same product, but after the ScanSnap snared an Honorable Mention at last week's 2005 Innovation in Tax & Accounting Technology Award ceremony I decided to again remind you what a great addition this is. There are many  schools of thought regarding the proper type of scanner for a busy public accounting office. The ScanSnap may be correct for you, or you may want to move up the food-chain ---- but for your personal desk top you simply can't beat this product. It ships with Adobe Acrobat 7.0 (around $275 by itself) and is <$500 MSR and well under $400 pretty much anywhere. At that price point it's almost a no-brainer. 

It scans 15 double-sided pages per minute in one step, in color, while automatically eliminating blank pages, and deskewing and straightening. It also (I love this) handles all those pesky sized credit card receipts just beautifully. Preparing my expense reports in now easy tolerable. A day doesn't go by that I don't use the "scan to email" function.

This unit's footprint is only 8 1/2 x 11 ... so it fits on my credenza without getting in the way.

gll

PS: It also ships with a business card reader. It's not great and requires an intermediate step to get data to Outlook. On the other hand, if you have 20 or so business cards it starts to look pretty good.

BillQuick Adds Microsoft Small Business Accounting Support

Unless you've been living under a rock since busy season ended you're surely aware of Microsoft's pending entry into the small business accounting space -- with a soon-to-be-released product aptly monikered as "Microsoft Small Business Accounting". When Microsoft moves, we all watch. In this case one of the things we all watch is who moves, when. Well, it seems that Microsoft has been cultivating the developer network and has convinced one of the brightest of the Intuit Developer Network, namely BQE Software, to add support for the new Microsoft entry.

I've had several interesting conversations recently with Shafat Qazi, CEO of BQE. His flagship product, BillQuick, generally highly regarded as a QuickBooks add-in, rolled out a 2005 version this spring and added support for the pending Microsoft accounting product. Now THAT'S news! BillQuick 2005 maintains support for QuickBooks --- putting Qazi and his company's products in the enviable position of being "platform independent" just at the beginning of the Microsoft - Intuit battle for the hearts, minds, and wallets of American small businesses. Users win here, big time, because BillQuick is a pretty solid solution and since it's the front end for the businesses that adopt it, the results of the upcoming battle aren't nearly as important to it's users.

I'd suggest more than a passing look at the 2005 version of BillQuick --- regardless of your Intuit / Microsoft preference. It's technology adaption is very smooth --- especially the web, email, PDA, and mobile phone components.

gll

PS: Warning -- It may remove your last excuse for not having your timesheet up to date!

Companies Honored for Innovative Technologies in Tax & Accounting

At a reception held this afternoon in Los Angeles I announced the 2005 Innovation in Tax & Accounting Technology, sponsored by The CPA Technology Advisor. The technologies the winning companies provide consistently improves not only the client-accountant relationship but also the overall productivity and profitability of practicing accountants.

The recipients of this year’s Tax and Accounting Technology Innovation Awards are:

• CCH Incorporated for CCH@Hand, a tax and accounting research-focused toolbar that sits at the top of Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel and Internet Explorer, allowing users to quickly launch searches of CCH’s Internet Research NetWork without interrupting their workflow. The system logs in automatically and goes directly to the necessary point within the NetWork product.
• DoubleSight Displays for multi-panel display monitors that enhance productivity by allowing professionals to work in multiple applications in their own full-sized window at the same time, as well as being better able to view wider documents like spreadsheets.
• Maxtor for Maxtor OneTouch II, an external hard drive that simplifies the process of backing up and storing data. Its one-step “pushbutton” approach makes it about as easy to use as a toaster, but gives users the benefit of a reliable backup solution.
• Thomson Creative Solutions for UltraTax CS 1040 Portals. The web-based system allows 1040 clients year-round access to read-only *.PDF copies of their tax returns through a private, secure Internet portal. Clients can print their return as needed, without requiring administrative assistance. The system also works with online tax organizers that interface with the tax preparation program, reducing data-entry time.
• UTS, Inc. for the development of the TaxWise CashWise Card, which enables tax professionals to provide the speed advantage of electronically deposited tax return funds to even their unbanked clients. The card also helps these clients avoid costly check-cashing services and provides them with a safe and convenient way to handle their money. The debit/ATM card is usable at more than 2.3 million locations.

The August issue of The CPA Technology Advisor will carry expanded information about these winning products, those Honorably Mentioned, and many overall nominees

gll

More than 75 software, hardware and service products were nominated for this year’s awards. Recipients were selected by the editorial staff and the Editorial Advisory Board of The CPA Technology Advisor, which includes accounting and tax professionals from across the country who are engaged in public practice in firms ranging from sole practitioners to major, multi-office regional practices. To be eligible for consideration, nominated products must be either recently developed or have undergone significant enhancement within the last two years. Additionally, they must be commercially available and directly marketed to the accounting and tax profession. Beta version products are not eligible.

Somebody Shoulda Done This YEARS ago!

I confess. My "behind the desk" rats nest of wires is completely unmanageable. (The truth is that the TOP of my desk is pretty unmanageable sometimes, too .... but that's MY fault!) My problem is power bricks and their [lack of] relationship to power strips. I have at least a dozen devices (speakers, router, modem, hub, scanner, 2 printers, Mirra, Maxtor, two monitors, docking station, etc.) and most utilize a transformer device. My Popular Science magazine arrived this week and provided a clue to a solution. Someone FINALLY solved what should never have been a problem in the first place.

Trident Design, LLC has released the PowerSquid. It's a power strip minus the strip: Each of the five female sockets is attached to its own cord, so power bricks won't block other outlets. It converts 1 grounded outlet to 5 grounded adapter-ready outlets. It will reportedly retail for about $15 --- but to date I can't find it for sale.

I love simple ideas. Bravo Trident!!!

gll

Sage Software rolls out CPAWorkpaper Manager

Sage Software (formerly Best Software) has introduced CPAWorkpaper Manager, a  tool to allow public accountants to electronically store all documents related to a working trial balance in one secure container. CPAWorkpaper Manager launches from the activities menu in CPAClient Write-Up, organizing and storing client work paper documentation in a centralized location lists all engagements, with default folders for Assets, Liabilities, Equity and Income Statement, displayed in a tri-panel window. Accountants can move documents within an engagement with a drag and drop utility, and can insert new documents into existing files (including scanned documents in PDF format). They can also create new MS-Word documents and MS-Excel spreadsheets with version numbers for tracking and sign off on completed documentation. CPAWorkpaper Manager includes a Trial Balance View option, and can drill down to see detailed transactions and enter adjustments just by double-clicking on any debit or credit cell on the grid. Notes and customizable tickmarks allow preparers to electronically communicate to reviewers and sign off on completed documents. All entries are done in real time model. CPAWorkpaper Manager is available direct from Sage Software and is priced at $695.

While I have not seen this software I have had a few extended discussions with CPA Software product managers about its capabilities and positioning. They are very clear that it is not intended for attest engagements but rather is designed specifically for the write-up market --- i.e. compilations. If true, it's a welcome addition to the marketplace for the 75%+ of practices that have abandonded performing audit and review services.

gll

PS to Best ---- It took me 10 minutes of searching on your website to even FIND CPA Software products! And there is NOTHING there about this prodiuct. Tssk, tssk.